Engine Broke

[stewartw]

hi guys

I'm sad to say my engine has given up, just entering the carriageway and the engine loses power, I depressed the clutch immediately and the car stall, I tried to restart whilst coasting and no good, luckily there was a lay-by just ahead and I managed to coast into it and park. I suspected the timing chain as when I tried to start and it sounded like no compression just a smooth whirl sound, the engine didn't even shake.

Anyway garage called today and said they checked timing chain and its still there turning ??? Because of this they are 95% sure its an internal failure and recommend a new engine, as the cost of doing a compression check would be about £270, doing all that work just to find out which cylinder has low compression sounds like dead money, as once found the cost of stripping, repair then rebuild would cost just as much.

I am currently looking for a new engine, but just wanted your thoughts and opinions as to what might have gone wrong.

The car is a B180 CDI W245 with 155,000 miles (249448 Km) approx, Full Mercedes history up to 80K then services and MOT every year at specialist, I also carry out an extra oil & filter change myself 6 months after service, so it basically gets fresh oil every 6 months regardless, the engine sounded sweet as a nut and gave no clues as to the problems, no chain clatter.

Question, my engine code is OM640940, but as I think I only require the block and head does it matter if I purchase a B200cdi? then just swap the injectors back, are there any difference to the mechanics in a B180 and B200, they both use a 2L engine.

thanks guys

 

[markjay]

I don't know the answer for fact, but on a general note if not swapping like-for-like you risk ending up having to also replace some ancillaries such as alternator, fuel pump, ECU, etc. The best bet would be to opt for an identical short engine second-hand or reconditioned.

 

[stewartw]

I've just reading all night, and came across Cam Shaft Sensor, do you think this is a possible cause? I have read of 2 sensors (Crank and Cam) shaft sensor.
Which 1 do we have, I have read this can cause a sudden stall and will not let the engine restart, as the garage has said the timing chain is still good I'm kind of clutching at straws and hoping this may be a cause. Its worth a try.

Can anyone tell me the symptoms of a Failing & broken sensor?

Thanks

 

[DieselPete]

You can do an occilascope type compression test with star ok it wont give accurate readings but will show if a cylinder is completly down. Is there anybody near you with a star? I also use a pico scope to do a somilar test if i think an engine has gone bang its quick and you dont have to remove any parts

 

[stewartw]

I have no clue, garage has said there is alot of things to take apart on a B180 CDI to do a compression test, how are the tests you mentioned carried out?

 

[stewartw]

I got some fault codes from the week before when the esp light came on, that was fixed by replacing the brake light switch, here are the codes if anyone can decipher them, if we ignore the brake and esp, what are the others?

 

[Sp!ke]

it sounds to me like you need to get the car down to a garage with a Star. Assuming that the car needs an engine replacement strikes me as being somewhat knee jerk.

What symptoms are there to indicate mechanical failure rather than electronic? Was there any noises or smoke or anything when it died?

 

[markjay]

it sounds to me like you need to get the car down to a garage with a Star....

As above. I have the same Autel MaxiDiag EU702, and while it's better than most (and definitely well worth the money), on the occasion that the car had issues the error codes shown on the Autel and those on STAR were not always the same. I wouldn't make any big decisions based on the Autel reading only. So STAR it is......

 

[DieselPete]

If you can find a garage with an occilascope you can do a quick compression test just by using and amp clamp on the scope to measure the cranking amps when the engine hits tdc on each cylinder stroke, its a really easy way of checking if you have a cylinder way down on compression, i know star has this capabilty as iv used it on comercial engines in work. Try finding a good indy that knows what he/she is doing.

 

[joesoap]

I think the clue may be in the first fault- undervoltage.
Many times when multiple errors or codes are present it can be caused by a low battery voltage, or connections or body/ecu earths.

 

[StMarks]

Fwiw the combination of faults seemed to me to all point at a failed/failing Crank position sensor.
I was reading it that the generic reader was getting the message on the ECU, but just not being able to translate it correctly.??

 

[Bellow]

For the engine to lose power as described and it be compression related then it would have to be a catastrophic compression failure - unlikely. Check though, by turning the engine over by hand and feeling 4 distinct compression phases over two revolutions - and save yourself the guts of £300.
Much more likely is an electrical failure of the type already highlighted.